St. Vincent

Add Date: September 13 

Artist: St. Vincent 

Album: Strange Mercy 

Label: 4AD 

Genre: Rock, pop, experimental

Comments: Months ago, when the release date for Strange Mercy was announced, label 4AD promised that it would "redefin[e] the idea of the guitar hero, utilizing the instrument as a pointillist artist might wield a brush." Anyone who's seen Annie Clark absolutely shred the guitar in concert wouldn't have been stunned to hear that proclamation, which is indeed borne out by St. Vincent's brilliant third LP.

The orchestral flourishes that featured throughout 2009's Actor have, in one sense, been discarded; you'll scarcely hear strings or woodwinds on Strange Mercy. Yet that doesn't mean that the songs here are stripped-down or empty-sounding. Instead, Clark's guitar and vocals--that great juxtaposition of her virtuoso-gone-haywire work on the Harmony Bobcat set against her dreamily sweet voice--and a healthy dose of synthesizers fill in these spaces perfectly. In general, the music here isn't quite as layered as on Actor, which can be a good thing--the tunes have space to breathe, at least until Clark overwhelms the last minute or so of a track with a mind-warping guitar piece.

One thing certainly hasn't changed on Strange Mercy: Clark continues to write glorious pop songs. The label describes album standout "Cruel" as "St. Vincent you can dance to, like some phantasmagorical Abba track." Meanwhile, "Surgeon" starts out as a cool lounge tune, with Clark's guitar just biding its time until it can push those synths out of the way and take over. The title track and "Champagne Year" mix in some soul and just a hint of New Wave, while the skewed pop of "Cheerleader" and "Northern Lights" provide even more twists and turns.

A phenomenal record--one of 2011's best and most interesting throughout, but start with tracks 2, 4, 8, 6, 5 and 3.